Chapter Fifteen: Discretion

The grasses at Shiz were kept well watered and well-mowed. Or there was some sorcery keeping them that intense green. The girls' dorms were on one side of campus, a single building five stories high. The boys' dorms were on the opposite side (probably to discourage any visiting). The apartments were besides the boys' dorms.

When they got there, she helped him unpack in his apartment. It was about as big as his bedroom at Kiamo Ko (which meant it was huge). It had a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/living area. He didn't see why she couldn't just stay there with him... Once they finished making his apartment feel more like home, he insisted on walking with her over to the dorms.

"Fiyero, I thought we were going to be discreet."

"I just don't understand why." And he didn't. It wasn't like anyone here was going to go back and tell his parents about them.

"This is a new place, a new situation. We should at least start without being obvious until we're comfortable here."

"I guess I understand that. And that makes me think of something else. These people don't need to know you're a servant. You aren't, not while you're here. And you don't deserve to be treated like one." This had been a thought he'd had for a while.

"That's fine. But exactly how are we supposed to say we know each other? Fiyero, we can't make up a whole new past."

"We met on the way here. You had gone out to the Vinkus for some reason or another and we shared a carriage out here."

"I don't know, Fiyero." Elphaba sounded skeptical. "Let's just not talk about it unless someone asks, okay?"

"Fair enough." They had reached her room and were standing outside of it. Elphaba seemed reluctant to go in. He realized then that he was the only person remotely near her age that she'd ever really talked to. This might be scary for her – not that she'd ever admit that. Gently he said, "Let's get you unpacked."

Elphaba sighed and opened the door. Her roommate was already there. She was blonde and blue-eyed. Fiyero had heard that Gilikinese girls were the most beautiful girls, but he didn't see it. It was a conventional sort of beauty. Elphaba's looks stirred something in him that no conventional girl could. Fiyero was bothered when he noticed Elphaba's new roommate staring at her.

"Hi…" The girl looked at Elphaba, unsure what to make of her. She was looking at her as though she had some sort of disease. And she was looking at Fiyero with some confusion, too.

"Hi," Elphaba said stiffly.

"You must be my roommate." The girl shook herself out of her apprehension and put on a sweet smile. "My name is Galinda."

"I'm Elphaba."

"And who is your… friend?"

"Oh, this is Fiyero."

"Hi," Fiyero shrugged.

"You must be from the Vinkus," Galinda observed.

"I am."

"He's a prince," Elphaba blurted out, clearly unsure of how to speak to this girl.

Galinda raised her eyebrows.

"Of the Arjiki tribe," he explained.

"And where are you from?" Galinda asked Elphaba.

"That's a good question and I wish I had the answer." Elphaba didn't say any more than that. She didn't seem to realize that she would confuse the girl.

"What in Oz do you mean?"

"I… well, I grew up in a mauntery. I never knew my parents. So I have no idea where I'm from." Elphaba shrugged.

"That must be dreadful!"

"I don't particularly care."

This was going to be a very strained living situation. He could tell already. Just looking at the two girls it was clear they were different. And sure, some differences were always good, but there was nothing these two would ever have in common. Fiyero thought it'd be a good idea to change the subject. "So, Galinda, are you excited for classes to start in a few days?"

Galinda shrugged. "I guess. I'm more excited to meet people. And that reminds me, I met these two girls who I promised to go visit today. I hate to leave so suddenly…" The blonde girl grabbed her purse and fled the room.

"Somehow I think I'm going to be spending a lot of time visiting you," Elphaba said once she was gone.

"I was hoping you would spend a lot of time visiting me whether or not you got along with your roommate."

"I would've! But maybe I'll spend the night more often."

Now that he liked the sound of. Sweet Oz, if she could've known the things that had gone through his head the other night when she had been in his bed. He'd wanted to do things to her he hadn't even imagined before. He still did. And the signals she was sending made him wonder if maybe she was feeling that, too. But he didn't want to scare her away. "I'm perfectly fine with that," he grinned.

"I thought you would be." Elphaba laughed.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

"Oh!" Galinda walked back in the room. "I'm sorry… I forgot my…" She grabbed something off of her desk and ran out of the room even faster than she had before.

Elphaba glared at Fiyero. "Well, there goes being discreet."

"She won't tell anyone."

"I'll bet she's telling her new friends right now what a freak her roommate is. And that she just walked in on her freak roommate making out with a Vinkun prince. She doesn't seem like the quiet type."

"She was pretty quiet a few minutes ago."

"That's because she's afraid of me. And don't you go denying that, Fiyero. You saw it, too. I know you did. Not that it's a problem. At least it means she won't bother me too much."

He sighed. "She didn't seem that fond of you. But Elphaba, you weren't exactly the most approachable…"

"I don't have a lot of practice with these things, Fiyero. And maybe I don't want to be approachable. The minute I saw the way she looked at me, I didn't want to talk to her."

He shook his head at her. While part of him wanted her all to himself, he also wanted her to at least make a few friends, though she didn't seem to want to. "I'm sure there are less judgmental people around here. Give it time."

"I will." Elphaba finally looked around the room, and so did he.

Her roommate's bedspread was pink and ruffled. Elphaba would be using the sheets provided to her by the school, plain beige. They each had a desk, a bookshelf and a chest of drawers. There were two closets and a bathroom off to the side, smaller than any bathroom he'd ever seen. There was a door to another room. He went over to it.

"I think that's where her Ama is staying. We best not bother her. She'll come in here on her own, I suppose. They probably assigned me to room with her because I had no Ama and she had one."

Fiyero knew what an Ama was, but he didn't understand why they were necessary. Why did girls need chaperones? Elphaba certainly did not need to be taken care of. And he doubted this Ama, whoever she was, would bother much with her, anyway. Her main charge was that flighty blonde thing that had run out the door moments ago. After all, she hadn't even bothered to come out and meet Elphaba.

He wasn't sure how Elphaba's living situation would work out, but at least it meant she'd spend more time with him. Fiyero looked back over at her. Then again, the more time he spent with her, the more he worried he'd do something drastic.